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 News

Salma Hayek meets with Syrian refugees in Lebanon

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Actress and film director Salma Hayek helped launch CHIME for the Children of Syria, a fundraising appeal to support children and families affected by the Syria crisis, following a recent visit to meet with Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

CHIME FOR CHANGE is a global campaign to raise funds and awareness for girls and women around the world focusing on the areas of education, health and justice.

Hayek visited Syrian refugees in Lebanon on April 25 to draw attention to the urgent humanitarian needs of children and families whose lives have been upended by the brutal conflict in Syria over the last four years.

Across the region, UNICEF estimates that 14 million children have been affected and are at risk of becoming a lost generation, including 2.6 million children who are no longer in school, and close to two million who are living as refugees in neighboring countries.

“Millions of children have been robbed of their childhood, their country and have lost their loved ones. As a result of the conflict in Syria, they are missing out on their education and are having to work to provide for their families,” said Hayek.

Hayek met with refugee children and observed a polio immunization campaign targeting high risk areas, in partnership with the Ministry of Public Health, UNICEF and local partner Beyond Association to protect nearly 190,000 children under the age of five from the crippling disease.

She also witnessed mobile medical clinics set up by UNICEF, the Ministry, and local partners to provide free primary healthcare, including access to vaccines, critically needed examinations, basic medicine and antenatal care to refugees in tented settlements across Lebanon.

“I’m deeply inspired by the courage of the Syrian refugee children and their families that I met in Lebanon who, against the odds, and despite the harm they have suffered or witnessed, are still determined to endure life and hope for a better future. I’m also moved by the generosity so many Lebanese people have shown toward those seeking refuge in their country,” said Hayek, whose paternal grandparents were Lebanese.

“I plead to everyone who is grateful for the peace and stability in their lives to show compassion for those who have lost it all and to help.”

Well-known for films such as Frida, Puss in Boots and most recently The Prophet, Hayek is also member of the CHIME FOR CHANGE Founding Committee supporting women and girls’ empowerment.

In 2008, Hayek travelled to Sierra Leone with UNICEF to witness firsthand the impact of maternal and neonatal tetanus on women and babies and observe UNICEF’s health and immunization programs.

The Gucci-UNICEF partnership was launched in 2005, and has benefitted more than 7.5 million children to date through UNICEF programs that focus on helping the most disadvantaged children have a brighter future through education.

SEE photos of Hayek’s visit:

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 Entertainment

Najib Mikati’s son hosts lavish wedding celebration in Morocco

(MARRAKESH, MOROCCO) — Lebanese billionaire and former prime minister Najib Mikati celebrated his son’s wedding on Saturday at the El Badi Palace in Marrakesh, Morroco.

Sources say over 1,000 people attended Malick Mikati’s wedding, including Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab and Egyptian singer Amr Diab.

The Mikati family also hosted a brunch party at the La Mamounia luxurious hotel on Sunday.

Malick Mikati and his wife celebrate their wedding at the El Badi Palace in Morocco. (Twitter)
Malick Mikati and his wife celebrate their wedding at the El Badi Palace in Morocco. (Twitter)

The El Badi Palace is a tourist attraction in Morocco, which was commissioned by the Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, sometime shortly after his accession in 1578.

Najib Mikati served as the Prime Minister of Lebanon two times, from April to July 2005 and from January 2011 to August 2013. He is also the co-founder of telecommunications company Investcom, which he sold in 2006 to South Africa’s MTN Group for $5.5 billion.

U.S. Forbes magazine estimated his fortune at nearly $3.3 billion, making him the richest man in Lebanon.

The courtyard of the El Badi Palace in Marrakesh, Morocco. (Wikimedia)
The courtyard of the El Badi Palace in Marrakesh, Morocco. (Wikimedia)
Malick Mikati and his wife celebrate their wedding at the El Badi Palace in Morocco. (Twitter)
Malick Mikati and his wife celebrate their wedding at the El Badi Palace in Morocco. (Twitter)
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 City Beat, Detroit, News

Tayyar U.S. delegation conclude weekend workshop

(DETROIT, MI) — A U.S. delegation of Free Patriotic Movement leaders concluded a two-day political workshop in Birmingham, Mich. on Sunday, which included an evening dinner attended by Consul General of Lebanon Bilal Kabalan.

Kabalan voiced his future plans to invite opposing Lebanese political factions to unanimously gather for a meeting.

“We have plans to bridge the various Lebanese political chapters in Detroit,” said Kabalan, during brief comments in Arabic. “This is an important and democratic asset to Lebanon to have so many differing beliefs.”

The final day of the workshop hosted political supporters of the March 8 alliance, including guests of the March 14 alliance, for a dinner at The Community House in downtown Birmingham.

Suehaila Amen, coordinator of the two-day conference, said the purpose was to restructure the Lebanese American Council of Democracy (LACD), which is largely managed by Tayyar leaders.

“This is an opportunity to bring together leaders from around the nation to reshape the mission and vision of this organization,” Amen said. “It’s also to make the group more social than political.”

Salim Sessine, local Lebanese-American businessman who organized the conference, said workshop attendees agreed to structure independent statewide organizations of LACD.

“We want to create one national board,” Sessine said. “Then there will be independent statewide chapters which will remain as separate entities.”

Conference attendees discussed the security situation in Lebanon and the ongoing presidential vacuum, which they say threatens Christians in the Middle East.

“Christians are currently in a fragile role in the region,” said Tony Faddoul, who came from New York for the conference. “But that issue is a uniting factor among many of the Lebanese political groups.”

Faddoul said FPM’s political strategy desires to protect Christians and rally the Lebanese diaspora to maintain their roots in Lebanon.

“We’re from a generation used to all the climax,” he said. “We heard of flourishing moments from our parents, but we haven’t had the chance to experience them. We instead emigrated to other countries.”

Wedad Elhage, who immigrated to the United States in 1980, said she’s pleased to see diaspora communities remain involved in Lebanese politics.

“I’m so proud to see different factions of our community here,” Elhage said. “As emigrants we came to the United States to achieve our dreams and have hopes to return our country and live freely.”

MORE: Tayyar gather in Detroit for nationwide political workshop. Click here for video.

Lebanese-American businessman Salim Sessine introducing Consul General of Lebanon Bilal Kabalan during a two-day political workshop for a U.S. delegation of Free Patriotic Movement representatives in Birmingham, Mich. Photo: Charlie Kadado/Lebanese Examiner
Lebanese-American businessman Salim Sessine introduces Consul General of Lebanon Bilal Kabalan during a two-day political workshop for a U.S. delegation of Free Patriotic Movement representatives in Birmingham, Mich. Photo: Charlie Kadado/Lebanese Examiner
Chiropractor Laura Mourad and businessman Gaby Issa listen to remarks by Consul General of Lebanon Bilal Kabalan. Photo: Charlie Kadado/Lebanese Examiner
Chiropractor Laura Mourad and businessman Gaby Issa listen to remarks by Consul General of Lebanon Bilal Kabalan. Photo: Charlie Kadado/Lebanese Examiner
Consul General of Lebanon Bilal Kabalan speaks to members of the Lebanese diaspora as Free Patriotic Movement U.S. representative Saad Hannoush looks on. Photo: Charlie Kadado/Lebanese Examiner
Consul General of Lebanon Bilal Kabalan speaks to members of the Lebanese diaspora as Free Patriotic Movement U.S. representative Saad Hannoush looks on. Photo: Charlie Kadado/Lebanese Examiner
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 Entertainment, News

Salma Hayek visits Lebanon to launch “The Prophet”

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Actress and film director Salma Hayek visited her ancestral homeland Lebanon for the first time on Sunday to launch “The Prophet,” a new animated feature film she co-produced.

Hayek, joined by Sethrida Geagea, visited the mountain village of Bcharre in northern Lebanon to pay tribute to Khalil Gibran, the Bcharre-born poet who wrote “The Prophet,” which the film is based on.

“Let us have a private moment in this place that we dreamt so long to be a part of,” Hayek said before entering the Gibran Museum.

“The Prophet,” written in 1923, has inspired generations of artists. The book, a series of poems about love, joy, sorrow, work and spirituality, has been translated into at least 40 languages.

Gibran also was a sculptor and a painter influenced by the English Romantics. He migrated to the United States in the late 1890s, dying there in 1931.

Hayek posed with one of Gibran’s towering sculptures outside the museum and dipped her feet in nearby mountain spring waters before visiting his tomb and viewing his work.

“The Prophet” director Roger Allers, who also directed Disney’s “The Lion King,” accompanied Hayek on the trip.

“I have been living with the spirit of Gibran for the last three years and it has been a very intimate experience and now to come to his home is very moving,” Allers said.

The film tells the story of a friendship between a young girl and an imprisoned poet. Quoting from Gibran’s book, Allers said: “‘Work is love made visible.’ And I really feel that about this movie.”

The film premieres April 30 in Lebanon. Distributor Mohammed Fadallah said it will be showing in 20 theaters here before going to the Gulf region and North Africa.

Hayek arrived Friday in Lebanon. The Mexican-American actress’ paternal grandfather was Lebanese and immigrated to Mexico.

A poster outside the museum bearing one of Gibran’s poems also welcomed her: “The children of my Lebanon, those who migrate with nothing but courage in their hearts and strength in their arms but who return with wealth in their hands and a wreath of glory upon their heads.”

Source: Associated Press

Mexican and American actress Salma Hayek, center, Lebanese legislator Setrida Geagea, left, and film director Roger Allers, right, stand for the Lebanese and Mexican national anthems during her visit at the museum of the famed Lebanese-born poet and philosopher Khalil Gibran in the northeast mountain town of Bcharre, Lebanon, Sunday, April 26, 2015. Hayek visited her ancestral homeland Lebanon to launch her latest film "The Prophet," a screen adaptation of the book by the same name written nearly a century ago by Gibran. Photo: Bilal Hussein, AP
Mexican and American actress Salma Hayek, center, Lebanese legislator Setrida Geagea, left, and film director Roger Allers, right, stand for the Lebanese and Mexican national anthems during her visit at the museum of the famed Lebanese-born poet and philosopher Khalil Gibran in the northeast mountain town of Bcharre, Lebanon, Sunday, April 26, 2015. Hayek visited her ancestral homeland Lebanon to launch her latest film “The Prophet,” a screen adaptation of the book by the same name written nearly a century ago by Gibran. Photo: Bilal Hussein, AP
Mexican and American Salma Hayek sits in front of a statue of Lebanese-American poet Khalil Gibran during her visit to his museum in the northeast mountain town of Bcharre, Lebanon, Sunday, April 26, 2015. Hayek visited her ancestral homeland Lebanon to launch her latest film "The Prophet," a screen adaptation of the book by the same name written nearly a century ago by the famed Lebanese-American poet and philosopher Gibran. Photo: Bilal Hussein, AP
Mexican and American Salma Hayek sits in front of a statue of Lebanese-American poet Khalil Gibran during her visit to his museum in the northeast mountain town of Bcharre, Lebanon, Sunday, April 26, 2015. Hayek visited her ancestral homeland Lebanon to launch her latest film “The Prophet,” a screen adaptation of the book by the same name written nearly a century ago by the famed Lebanese-American poet and philosopher Gibran. Photo: Bilal Hussein, AP
Mexican and American actress Salma Hayek signs the museum guest book during her visit at the museum of the famed Lebanese-born poet and philosopher Khalil Gibran in the northeast mountain town of Bcharre, Lebanon, Sunday, April 26, 2015. Hayek visited her ancestral homeland Lebanon to launch her latest film "The Prophet," a screen adaptation of the book by the same name written nearly a century ago by Gibran. Photo: Bilal Hussein, AP
Mexican and American actress Salma Hayek signs the museum guest book during her visit at the museum of the famed Lebanese-born poet and philosopher Khalil Gibran in the northeast mountain town of Bcharre, Lebanon, Sunday, April 26, 2015. Hayek visited her ancestral homeland Lebanon to launch her latest film “The Prophet,” a screen adaptation of the book by the same name written nearly a century ago by Gibran. Photo: Bilal Hussein, AP
Mexican and American actress Salma Hayek, second left, speaks with Lebanese legislator Setrida Geagea, second right, during her visit to Khalil Gibran's museum in the northeast mountain town of Bcharre, Lebanon, Sunday, April 26, 2015. Hayek visited her ancestral homeland Lebanon to launch her latest film "The Prophet," a screen adaptation of the book by the same name written nearly a century ago by the famed Lebanese-American poet and philosopher Gibran. Photo: Bilal Hussein, AP
Mexican and American actress Salma Hayek, second left, speaks with Lebanese legislator Setrida Geagea, second right, during her visit to Khalil Gibran’s museum in the northeast mountain town of Bcharre, Lebanon, Sunday, April 26, 2015. Hayek visited her ancestral homeland Lebanon to launch her latest film “The Prophet,” a screen adaptation of the book by the same name written nearly a century ago by the famed Lebanese-American poet and philosopher Gibran. Photo: Bilal Hussein, AP
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 News

Tayyar gather in Detroit for nationwide political workshop

(DETROIT, MI) — A nationwide delegation of Free Patriotic Movement leaders gathered in Detroit on Friday to begin a two-day political workshop and strategy conference to designate additional Tayyar representatives in underrepresented states.

The workshop is organized by local businessman Salim Sessine to shed light on minority Christians in the Middle East and connect with American political leaders and government representatives, including Paul Abbate, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit Division, who will address the group on Saturday.

“One of our long-term goals is to defend the presence of Christians in the Middle East, and try to educate our American friends and colleagues,” Sessine said. “We want to make sure we have presence throughout the United States.”

Tayyar representatives from New York, Florida, California, and Alabama gathered at the Community House in Birmingham, Mich. on Friday to kick-off political strategy dialogue, which will continue throughout the weekend.

“The purpose of this convention is to stay connected and organize ourselves,” said Norma Haddad, who came from New York to examine predicaments facing Lebanese Christians and potential lobbying solutions in Washington, DC. “We’re united on all political sides to do something for the Christians in Lebanon.”

Millions of Middle Eastern Christians fled the region since WWI, including a high influx of Lebanese Maronites, who left during the Lebanese Civil War.

WATCH Tayyar representatives discuss day one of the political workshop:

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 News

American Task Force for Lebanon hosts annual gala in DC

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(WASHINGTON, DC) — The American Task Force for Lebanon hosted their 17th annual fundraising gala at the Fairmont Washington Hotel in Washington, DC on Apr. 16, which honored renowned geneticist Dr. Huda Zoghbi and journalist Sara Ganim.

The event drew hundreds of guests, including members of Congress and such dignitaries as General George Joulwan, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, and Dr. Charles Elachi, director of the U.S. Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The first honor was presented to Dr. Zoghbi, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and founding director of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital. She is also a trustee at the American University of Beirut and Rice University.

Sara Ganim, CNN correspondent based in New York, was also presented an award during the gala. Ganim covers investigative news for the news network, including Jerry Sandusky’s child sex abuse scandal, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 2012.

The American Task Force for Lebanon (ATFL) is a nonprofit organization comprised of Americans of Lebanese heritage who lobby U.S. officials to provide aid to Lebanon and promote the accomplishments and nationwide contributions of Lebanese Americans.

The organization features an array of Lebanese-American leaders, including former U.S. senator Spencer Abraham, chairman of ATFL, and U.S. congressman Darrell Issa, who serves on its Board of Directors.

ATFL says it works to promote national unity and sovereignty in Lebanon and to enlist greater support from the U.S. public to “assist Lebanon achieve its potential as a beacon of coexistence, tolerance, freedom of expression, democracy, and free enterprise in the Middle East.”

VIEW photos of the gala below:

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 News

Obama will not call 1915 Armenian killings a ‘genocide’

(WASHINGTON, DC) — U.S. officials announced on Wednesday that President Barack Obama will not call the 1915 massacre of Armenians a genocide, prompting anger from those who have been pushing him to make the announcement on the 100th anniversary of the killings.

Top administration officials met with Armenian-American leaders on Tuesday before publicly announcing their decision. Media reports say Obama officials were advised not to call the killings a genocide from some at the State Department and the Pentagon.

“The president and other senior administration officials have repeatedly acknowledged the historical fact that 1.5 million Armenians were massacred and marched to their death in the final days of the Ottoman Empire,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz said Wednesday. “As we have said in previous years, a full frank and just acknowledgment of the facts is in all of our interests, including Turkey’s, Armenia’s and America’s.”

As a presidential candidate, Obama formerly described the killings a “genocide” and said the U.S. government had a “responsibility” to recognize them as such. In January 2008, he pledged to recognize the genocide if elected president.

But Obama has never used that description since becoming president, out of obedience to Turkey, a key U.S. partner and ally, which is frantically opposed to the “genocide” label.

The U.S. announcement added that Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew will attend a ceremony in Armenia on Friday to mark the anniversary.

Historians estimate up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks, which has been widely recognized by scholars as genocide. Turkey, however, denies the claim and says the death toll has been inflated.

Intense negative reaction to the announcement came from members of the Armenian-American community and members of Congress who have been rallying the president to clarify the label.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said he was “deeply disappointed” by the president’s decision.

“The United States has long prided itself for being a beacon of human rights, for speaking out against atrocity, for confronting painful chapters of its own past and that of others,” said Schiff. “This cannot be squared with a policy of complicity in genocide denial by the president or Congress.”

Armenian officials say they feel betrayed by the president.

“President Obama’s surrender to Turkey represents a national disgrace,” said Ken Hachikian, the chairman of the Armenian National Council of America. “It is, very simply, a betrayal of truth, a betrayal of trust.”

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 News

Hariri meets with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in DC

(WASHINGTON, DC) — Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington, DC on Apr. 22, to discuss the security situation in Lebanon and the U.S.-Lebanon partnership.

“We are very opposed to entities like Hezballah and others using locations and places in Lebanon and nearby as pawns in this struggle,” Kerry said in a joint press conference prior to the meeting.

“We call on Iran and the Assad regime and others to respect the integrity of Lebanon, and permit it and its people to be able to find the peace and the stability that they have longed for so long.”

Kerry said he was “anxious” to see Lebanon elect a president amid an ongoing 11-month presidential deadlock.

“We’re anxious to see the presidency ultimately filled and to try to see the effects of Daesh and Nusrah and Syria moved away from Lebanon so that Lebanon can really have its sovereignty respected and its future protected and guaranteed,” he said.

Hariri thanked the U.S. for supporting the Lebanese army, which has made equipment donations to the army in recent months. He also expressed concern over Hezbollah’s involvement in the region.

“The involvement of certain factions like Hezballah in Iran also – and in Lebanon or in Syria or in Iraq or in Yemen has grown to a point that is extremely dangerous,” Hariri said.

The meeting comes one day after Hariri met with Lebanese-American congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) and congresswoman Gwen Graham (D-FL) during a private gathering of members of the Lebanese Caucus.

WATCH Secretary of State John Kerry and Prime Minister Saad Hariri deliver brief remarks:

 

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, good morning, everybody. It’s my pleasure to welcome to Washington and to the State Department the former prime minister of Lebanon and a good friend personally. Each time that I have gone to Beirut, almost every time, I’ve had occasion to be able to visit with Saad Hariri. And he has worked for moderation and for thoughtful political compromise to try to move this country forward. He’s worked through very difficult challenges, obviously.

And we’re particularly, here in the United States, committed to Lebanon’s stability and security. We’re anxious to see the presidency ultimately filled and to try to see the effects of Daesh and Nusrah and Syria moved away from Lebanon so that Lebanon can really have its sovereignty respected and its future protected and guaranteed.

So we have a lot to talk about, because right now, there are some 1.2 million refugees who have spilled over from Syria into Lebanon that destabilizes the country. We are very opposed to entities like Hizballah and others using locations and places in Lebanon and nearby as pawns in this struggle. And we call on Iran and the Assad regime and others to respect the integrity of Lebanon, and permit it and its people to be able to find the peace and the stability that they have longed for so long.

So we have a lot to talk about, and I’m very, very happy to welcome the former prime minister here. I know he remains very active and is very important to the politics of his country. And we will continue to support the Lebanese Armed Forces and the forces of moderation and those who want to work together peacefully to provide the future that the people of Lebanon deserve.

Welcome.

MR. HARIRI: Thank you. I want to thank you, Mr. Secretary, for having me here. Yes, we do have a lot to talk about. Lebanon is living a very difficult time. The region also is in a very, very dangerous time also, I would say. The involvement of certain factions like Hizballah in Iran also – and in Lebanon or in Syria or in Iraq or in Yemen has grown to a point that is extremely dangerous. We believe that Iran has a good – a country that we all need to deal with, and we believe that interfering into Lebanon is not something that we would like as Lebanese people.

I would like to thank you for the support of the Lebanese army. This is something that we try to always help, because this is the basic of our security. We’re facing Daesh; we’re facing Nusrah; we’re facing al-Qaida on our borders. We have 1.2 million refugees, like you said, and we need to elect a president. So hopefully, we’ll have some good talks. Thank you.

SECRETARY KERRY: Look forward to it. Thank you. Welcome. Thank you very much, folks. Thank you.

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 News

Journalism freedom organization reinforces support for Lebanese journalist on trial

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Reporters Without Borders reiterates its support for Lebanese TV journalist Karma Khayat, whose trial before the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) in The Hague on charges of contempt of court and obstructing justice began last week.

Created to investigate Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination in 2005, the STL accuses Karma Khayat and her Arabic-language TV news channel, Al Jadeed TV, of endangering supposed confidential witnesses by filming them for a report after learning of their identity from an anonymous leak.

The report, which Al Jadeed TV broadcast in instalments from 6 to 10 August 2012, has not been removed from the station’s website or YouTube account. The charges were originally announced in April 2014.

This is the first time that a TV station has been the subject of a prosecution by an international court. The company that owns Al Jadeed TV, New TV S.A.L., is also being prosecuted. The STL is the first international court to be set up to investigate a single act of terrorism.

Now Al Jadeed TV’s vice-president, Khayat says the report’s aim was to draw attention to the STL’s problems and did not endanger the supposed witnesses because their names and their faces were pixelated in the video footage. The STL accuses her of undermining the public’s confidence in its ability to protect witnesses.

She is facing the possibility of a 7-year jail sentence and a 100,000-euro fine at the end of the trial, which began on 16 April.

Reporters Without Borders, which supports Khayat and her TV station, believes it is vital to preserve freely-reported news coverage in Lebanon at a moment in its history that is extremely delicate from both the political and security viewpoint.

“We condemn the decision to try Al Jadeed TV and Karma Khayat, who are guilty solely of holding the STL to account by broadcasting information obtained from leaks,” Reporters Without Borders programme director Lucie Morillon said. “The media have a duty to question the way the courts operate and to encourage a public debate on this subject.”

International media that covered this story have not been charged. They include the Canadian broadcaster CBC, the German news magazine Der Spiegel and the French dailies Le Figaro and Libération, which used confidential documents and internal STL leaks.

Khayat told the judge on 16 April: “The International Court was created for us and with our money. It is our duty to monitor its work.” Her lawyer, Karim Khan, said Khayat and other Al Jadeed TV employees have received death threats in connection with the case.

According to our sources, the report’s two main aims were to show that confidential information was being leaked from within the TSL, thereby endangering the proceedings, and to highlight the fact that is was easy to access “protected” witnesses, who had not been briefed about the confidential nature of their status as witnesses.

The first session of the trial, which began with the prosecution presenting its arguments, is due to end tomorrow. The trial will resume on 12 May, when the defence will have three days to present its witnesses and arguments. No date has been set for the verdict.

Members of a group that supports Khayat and Al Jadeed TV attended the start of the trial. They include Florence Hartmann, a French journalist who was convicted of contempt of court by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

The STL has also charged Ibrahim Al-Amine, the editor of the daily Al-Akhbar, and the company that owns his newspaper, with contempt of court and obstruction of justice. No date has so far been set for their trial.

Reporters Without Borders submitted an amicus brief on the Khayat case to the STL when a preliminary hearing was held on 13 May 2014.

Lebanon is ranked 98th out of 180 countries in the 2015 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.

Reporters Without Borders – Press Release

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 News

New traffic law takes effect in Lebanon amid controversy

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanon began implementing a new traffic law on Wednesday, which includes a mandatory seat belt ordinance and speed limits in an effort to reduce the number of deaths from road accidents.

The law has been criticized by some Lebanese leaders, who say lawmakers should fix potholes and non-functioning traffic lights before holding citizens responsible for speed limits and seats belts.

But police chief Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Basbous said the law was a “roadmap” to reduce the number of deaths in Lebanon, which have been rising, according to the World Health Organization.

Police officials say they hope the new law would cut the number of road deaths in half by 2020.

Police have been sending out SMS messages and hanging out brochures to motorists and passengers at major Lebanese intersections this week, in efforts to inform Lebanese citizens of the change.

Officials say the new law has been working well on the streets. Police Capt. Eddie Kahwaji said his staff were “surprised by the commitment of the people.”

New traffic fines range between 50,000 Lebanese pounds ($33) and 3,000,000 Lebanese pounds ($2,000), depending on the violation. There are also the points fines, could lead to revoking the driver’s license for a limited time under repeat violations.

Heavier violations are for excessive speed over 60 kilometers (37 miles) and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

A police spokesperson admits the law may need fixes in the future, but says it’s a good start.

“There are always things being added to road safety principles in the world, and this law should be flexible,” Lt. Col. Joseph Moussallem told The Daily Star. “The main purpose of the traffic law is protecting citizens and not collecting fines.”

For more information about the new law and potential penalties, click here.

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